Hopefully not the last laugh

The plays starred Martin Freeman (Tim from The office) and Roger Lloyd Pack (Trigger from Only Fools ..).

It was slightly dark and had some value in questioning the value of humour and how arts can flourish even when censorship is the norm– worth catching if you get the chance, if only as an opportunity to be slightly pretentious.

Darling’s Sky Chalice and institutional leftism at the BBC

Always mildly suspicious of reports from the Mail stable on SKY and ITV but I think there could be some truth in this one.

The New labour pact with News International goes to the heart of the electability of a Labour Government, with the removal of Blair there’s likely to be a reassessment of how Sky’s dominance of commercial TV affects democracy, in truth the question is not about if Sky bought into ITV as a spoiler to NTL Virgin but can they get away with it ? I wonder if James Murdoch will alter anyone’s mind on this before he leaves for the U.S.A.

If I was holding ITV or Sky shares I’d be unloading them now, Sky does not need regulatory issues and ITV although improving has some way to go.

The Sunday Times has a provocative piece by Robin Aitken around the BBC’s stodgy slightly left of centre world view, I’m in agreement but not sure how it should be tackled, Channel 4 is not much better and a right of centre bias is just as bad- true independence is perhaps a pipe dream but the idea that the BBC is something other than a state broadcaster is a view held by all at the BBC but not so many outside of it.